A UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) investigation has led to a man from Stoke-on-Trent being charged with providing facilities for gambling without having an operating license.
The 39-year-old, named Haydon Simcock, is charged with facilitating gambling between 18 October 2023 and 11 September 2024, and advertising it between 26 May 2023 and 1 March 2024. Simcock will appear before Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 24 March 2025 at 10 am.
The arrest comes a year after the Racing Post’s investigation into the black market in the United Kingdom. Simcock was also named in the RP investigation, although official sources have not confirmed whether or not it is the same person in question.
A journalist masquerading as a prospective customer discovered that Simcock was acting as a Commercial Manager for “The Post” bookmakers, which took bets through WhatsApp.
According to the Racing Post report, the “bookmaker” had 10 employees and 1300 customers and recommended that the journalist deposit as much as he could to take full advantage of the matched deposit scheme.
Mastercard and Visa Found On Crypto Casino Websites
The UKGC recently reacted to a story in the UK newspaper The Observer that found Mastercard and Visa were facilitating payments to unlicensed gambling websites.
The investigation, led by Investigate Europe, showed that both payment giants processed numerous transactions for sites that have been accused of scamming users out of significant sums of money through deleting accounts, refusing to pay out and bombarding those at risk from gambling-related harm with promotional spam.
On nine crypto casino sites, Mastercard was an accepted payment method alongside a range of digital currencies. Visa was also available on two of them.
A UKGC spokesperson commented: “We are aware of these websites and continue to take action to disrupt the unlicensed market, including working with online platforms and with payment providers.”
“Anyone gambling on unlicensed sites is supporting illegal activity and putting themselves at risk. Your financial data could be stolen, harvested or misused and you may not even be paid out if you win,” they continued.
The statement concluded: “These sites support crime and won’t have the standards or safeguards we insist on such as providing self-exclusion or looking out for and tackling gambling related harm. Consumers can easily check if a site is licensed by searching the business register on our website.”
Aspire Global Pay Hefty UKGC Fine for Breaches
Earlier this month Aspire Global was fined £1,407,384 after a Commission investigation found breaches of social responsibility and anti-money laundering policy.
All UKGC regulatory fines are contributed to UKGC-approved socially responsible causes, including GambleAware and Gambling with Lives. The operator, which runs 58 white-label websites, was also fined £237,600 in 2022 for anti-money laundering failures.
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